Treated Timber

What Is Timber?

Timber is wood that has been cut and processed into beams, planks, or boards, ready for use in construction, carpentry, joinery, and structural applications. It’s typically sourced from two main tree types:

• Softwood trees, such as pine, spruce, and fir
• Hardwood trees, like oak, ash, and beech
  
  

Once harvested, the logs are sawn, seasoned (either air- or kiln-dried), and often planed to improve stability and surface finish. 

Depending on its intended use, timber can be left untreated, pressure-treated with preservatives, or engineered into products like plywood or laminated beams for greater strength and consistency.

Types of Timber Used in Construction

Different construction projects require different timber properties. Here’s a closer look at the most common categories:

Softwood Timber

Softwoods come from coniferous trees (like pine and spruce). They’re lightweight, easier to cut, and typically more affordable than hardwoods. Though not as durable, treated softwoods are commonly used in framing, fencing, and general structural work.

Key traits:

• Fast-growing and sustainable
• Less dense than hardwood
• Common in C16 and C24 structural grades
  
  

Hardwood Timber

Hardwoods are harvested from broad-leaved, deciduous trees like oak, ash, and beech. Their density and grain structure make them well-suited to high-traffic areas and outdoor applications where wear resistance is important.

Key traits:

• Stronger and more durable
• Higher cost but longer lifespan
• Used in flooring, decking, furniture, and staircases
  
  

Engineered Timber

Engineered wood products, like plywood, OSB, and laminated veneer lumber, combine layers or fibres to improve stability. These are ideal in environments where moisture or temperature might cause natural wood to shift or warp.

Key traits:

• Consistent performance
• Resistant to warping
• Excellent for structural applications and sheathing

Why Choose Treated Timber?

Pressure-treated timber offers excellent durability and minimal maintenance. It's infused with preservatives that protect against moisture, fungal decay, and insect damage - especially important in outdoor or damp environments.

Benefits of Treated Timber

• Resists rot, mould, and woodworm
• Low maintenance - no regular sealing or painting needed
• More stable - better suited for outdoor conditions
• Longer lifespan - cost-effective over time

With C24 graded timber, structural integrity is enhanced further, making it suitable for heavy-load-bearing roles like joists, rafters, and wall plates.

Where Is Timber Used? 

Timber is used in the construction of properties and built into the floors, walls and ceilings. A few examples include:

• Floor joists: Floor joists are an important part of any home. They provide structural support for the floors and roof and play a key role in keeping your home safe and sturdy. They span horizontally across the foundations of a building, or between walls and structural beams.
• Beams: If you were to look up at the roof from the shell of a building, you’d see one long beam running across the length of it, supported by individual joists. They are usually the thickest and most important structural aspect of a roof or levels within a building.
• Rafters: Rafters run from a ridge (a horizontal junction between two roof slopes) to a wall, and are installed side by side to provide support to a roof.
• Studs: Studs are vertical framing components that keep windows, doors, and insulation in place. They make up the majority of a wall's frame and hold it in position.

How Is Timber Sized On Materials Market? 

Here at Materials Market, we list timber sizes in a couple of different ways. Timber lengths are usually referred to in imperial terms (inches rather than millimetres) and are characterised by their width and height. 

The most popular way we refer to size is in inches like '7 x 2' but we also use metric, which measures in millimetres (mm). 

For 7 x 2 timber this would be 175mm x 50mm or 47mm x 175mm. We sell 47mm x 175mm on this website and this is used interchangeably with 7 x 2 to refer to the same size of product. The slight discrepancy of 3mm between 47mm and 50mm just means that the finish at the ends is a lot more even and easier to work with.

Whatever your project, our site is proud to present a wide range of standard sizes for easy fitting; offering timber products that will be of interest to both new and seasoned builders. 

Roof Battens

A roof batten, sometimes called a timber batten, tile batten, wooden batten, counter batten, roofing lat or cladding batten, is a length of timber which is used in the construction of roofs and other structures. 

They are a very common building material and are relatively cheap to buy. However, in terms of their strength, they aren’t graded, as they don’t serve any structural purpose and are not load-bearing. 

Here at Materials Market, we are a leading supplier of roofing materials and sell a range of roof batten sizes pre-cut to specific lengths.